Wrench



June 8 1926.

P. HANFORD WRENCH Original Filed Sept. 22, 1919 Rf. M Q

A. w: 7 A l A W x g 3 Patented June 8 1926.

UNITED STATES PAmY SANFORD, OF SPRINGFIELD, HABSACE USIMI.

4 1,588,105 PATENTOF FICE.

' wmmon.

lulled for abandoned application Serial No. 885,855, med September 29, 1918. This application fled Octoher 87, 1924.

This invention relates to wrenches of the sliding jaw type, in which the jaws are adjusted by means of a rotatable threaded member engaging one of the jaw elements, and more particularly to means for preventing the unintentional disadjustment of the jaws. v Ordinary adjustable wrenches have-two main faults which render them unsatisfactory: the thumb-screw moves too. easily, thereby changing the size of the opening between the jaws and spoiling the fit unless the wrench is handled with extreme care when being used; and there is play or looseness in two laces, first between t e thumbscrew and thumb-screw and movable jaw. In most of these wrenches, the thumb-screw turns so easily that, if the wrench is laid down, or if it rubs against a machine or against the users clothes, or is otherwise touched or jarred, the wrench is likely to alter its ad'- justment, becoming either too small to go on the nut or so large that it will not grasp the nut properly. Even if the thumbscrew does not move, there is always enough play in the adjusting means to allow the jaws of the wrench to close a fractional part of an inch. When this happens, the wrench will not readily go onto the nut.

The object of this invention is tov overcome these deficiencies and to provide a wrench the jaws of which, after being set, will retain such exact adjustment under, ordinary working conditions;

A further object of the invention is to provide a wrench having. stationary and sildable jaws, a. rotatable member having threaded connection with such sl-idable jaw for adjusting the same, and interlocking means for locking the slidable jaw in fixed position.

' A still further object of this invention resides in a wrench and head provided with 'a stationary jaw and a slidable jaw, and a rotatable member having threads adapted to engage the slidable jaw for adjusting the same, the head and the rotatable member having yielding locking means for locking the sliding jaw in fixed position.

Another feature of the invention resides in the wrench having a head provided with stationar and slidable 'jaws, .a rotatable member having threads adapted to engage the sliding jaw for adjusting the same, and

ame, and second between the Serial no. mass,

resilient means arranged between said jaws tending to force the same apart.

These and other'objects will in part be ObVlOllS and will in part be hereinafter more fully described. I In the drawings, which show b way of illllStI'ittlOIl one embodiment of t e inven- -F1gure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of my lmproved wrench with parts broken away showing the rotatable worm for adusting the jaws and the spring for forcing the same apart;

Fig. 2 is a section thereof, taken on the l1ne 2r2 of Fig. 1;

F1g. 3 is a detail enlarged view of Fig. 1, showing the locking means for the rotatable worm;

Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of the locking shim; and

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modification of the locking means shown broken away.

In general the invention comprises a wrench having ahead provided with a stationary and a slidable aw, the slidable jaw bein adjustable to an from the stationary aw (y means of a rotatable worm having threa ed connection with the slidable jaw. The wrench and rotatablemember have an nterlocking means for lockin the slidable aw in fixed position, and t e stationary and shdable jaws have resilient means intermediate the same for forcing them apart.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 shows a wrench 1 provided with a head 2, formedv with a stationary jaw 3 and a po'rtion4 having a remass 6' in whichslides the movable jaw 5 hav1n the shank portion 9threaded as at 7 T is shank, as shown in 'Fi 2, is preferably round in cross-section an is provided with a flat-faced inner end between which and the inner face 10' of the recessed head is arranged a resilient meansin the shape of a coiled spring 11 which acts to force the stationary and movable jaws formally apart.

The head of the wrench is'also provided with a recessed portion 12 offset from the recess 4 and arranged transversely thereof, in which is located a rotatable adjusting member or worm 13 provided with any suitable number of threads 14 of the required shapeand pitch. As shown in Fig. 3, the worm is rotatably journaled on a s indle 15 which projects through'a bore in t e lower portion of the head and arranged transversely to the recess 12. The head of this spindle 15 is provided with threads so that, by unscrewing the same, it may be withdrawn and the worm removed from its recess in the head.

Inorder to provide a means for interlocking the head and this rotatable worm, there is provided a shim 17 shown in Fig. 4, which, as shown, comprises a flat metal plate similar in cross-section to and fitting in the base of the recess of the wrench immediately beneath the barrel of the worm. The shim is cut away, as at 18 and 19, to conform to the inner cross-section of the recess at this point, and is provided with a central aperture 20 through which projects the spindle 15. Around this aperture the face of the shim is struck up radially to provide locking ribs 21 which are adapted to seat in similarly shaped recesses or notches 22 on the under face of the worm. In order to dis-' engage the worm from these locking ribs, the same is moved endwise on its spindle, the cavity 12 being made a little wider than the barrel of the worm for this purpose.

It is obviousthat instead of providing a separate shim having struck-up locking ribs, as shown in Fig. i, one or more studs or ribs may be formed integral with the bottom face of the wrench at the recess 12, and these may be arranged either below or above the barrel of the worm, or any other suitable interlocking means may be arranged between the head of the wrench and this rotatable worm. In Fig. 5, I have shown one of such modifications, and in this construction the under face of the rotatable worm is provided with rounded recesses 23 adapted to receive an interlocking pawl or other member 24 which is pressed outwardly by means of a spring 25 located in a bore 26 and held therein by means of a small a screw 27 It is evident that in this construction the worm is not movable endwise but merely rotates, the spring-pressed pawl firmly holding the same in fixed position but permitting a rotation thereof when suflicient turning pressure is used.

In the operation of that form of the invention disclosed in Fig. 1, it is evident that, when the jaws of the wrench are set for any desired object, the spring 11 will hold the same in exact adjustment, and by forcing the sliding jaw 5 outwardly, the threads 8 thereof will engage the threads 14 on the worm, forcing the worm into locking engagement with the locking ribs on the shim 17 carried by the head of the wrench. When it is desired to change this adjustment, the worm is given an endwise movement to disengage it from these locking lugs and is then rotated to the required setting, when it is again locked as before. It will be seen that by properly designing the pitch of the from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

This application is a substitute for my prior application Serial No. 325,355, filed September 22, 1919, and inadvertently allowed to become abandoned.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A wrench including in combination stationary and movable jaws having working faces, means engaging said movable jaw for adjusting it relative to said stationary jaw,

and means tending-to move said movable jaw to its extreme open position, said lastnamed means being operative in a line located between the connection between said movable jaw and its adjusting means and the path of movement of the working faces of said relatively movable jaws.

2. A wrench including in combination stationary and movable jaws having work-engaging faces, means engaging said movable jaw for adjusting it relative to said stationary jaw, and means operative in a line located between the path of movement of the working face of said movable jaw and the place of engagement between the movable jaw and its adjusting means adapted to operate on said movable jaw to move it to extreme open position, said last-named means operating to hold said adjusting means in desired position.

3. A wrench including in combination a recessed stationary jaw, a movable jaw having a threaded face and an object-engaging face, a worm journaled for rotation in said stationary jaw engaging the threads on said movable jaw for adjusting the same, and a spring located in the recess of said stationary jaw and engaging said movable jaw intermediate its threaded face and object-engaging face and tending to move the objectengaging face of said movable jaw to extreme open position.

4. A wrench including in combination stationary and movable jaws adapted to engage the object therebetween, means engaging said movable jaw for adjusting it relatively to said stationary jaw, and yielding means engaging said movable jaw and operative in a line between its object-engaging portion and the portion engaged by said adjustin means for forcing the movable jaw to t e extreme open position permitted by said adjusting means, and means for holding said adjusting means in fixed position.

5. A wrench including in combination a stationary jaw, a jaw movable relatively thereto, ad usting means for said movable jaw, shiftable in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of movement of the movable jaw, means directlyengaging said movable aw" for holding it in extreme open position permitted by said adjustin means, and locking means arranged so thatt e shifting movement of said adjusting means locks the same in adjusted osition.

6. A wrench inclu ing in combination a stationary jaw and a jaw movable relative thereto, means capable of rotary moyement to adjust said movable jaw and capable of 'linear movement to lock itself in adjusted position, locking means for said adjusting means, and means directly engaging said jaw for forcing the same to extreme open position and for'shifting said adjusting means directly engaging said jaw tending to force the same to extreme. open position and to shift said adjusting means to locked position.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

PARMLY HANFORD, 

